Ulysses Septimus
Ulysses Caesarion Septimus is the primary protagonist of Valencian Assassin ''(as Octavian Superbus),'' Valencian Legend, ''and ''Valencian Empire. '' Biography Early Life Ulysses, born Octavian Casmirius Superbus, is the son of an extremely wealthy Valencian noble by the name of Lucius Benedictus Superbus and Nyx, the Primordial of Night. Since his father had long left him to the care of Ezio Septimus due to unknown circumstances, Octavian was initiated into the Order at birth, trained to fight as a lethal stealth warrior starting from the young age of 10. Since he was born and raised during the Polarian War, Octavian had grown to admire the strong and charismatic Supreme Commander Kane, leader of the Valencian Armada, admiration so strong it eventually grew into an obsession: he saw Kane as a Savior, and the Armada guardians to his beloved homeland Valencia, thus, his desire to serve the hero grew ever even stronger...This would later prove to be a factor that changed his destiny… When he became a full Assassin (novice rank) at the age of 17, Octavian called himself by the name of Altaïr and often journeyed around the Spiral with his comrades, specifically, his brother, cutting down monsters and tyrants on a regular basis, along with several Templars within the Valencian government. However, even he was not without failures to count: when he failed on his first group mission, Octavian chose to join the Order's frontline force - the Paladin Knights - to redeem his sins. This familiarized him with the arts of war, though also served to show him the true grim ways of the Assassins vs Templar war. For three years he would fight, as a simple soldier of the Order, then as the leader of the 16th Paladin Cavalry. At the same age when he reached his rank as a general, he participated in the Grand Master's Tournament, competing against other Assassins for a chance to become the Grand Master General, in other words, the "monarch" of the entire Assassin Order and the Supreme Commander of the Paladin Knights (the Order's front line fighting force). He clawed his way to the top, defeating other Assassins with some difficulty before he faced off the Journeyman Assassin Atticus Mercilus. Mercilus, even though he bought his way to the top of the tournament, proves himself to be a very powerful warrior; nearly defeating Ulysses before he was finally defeated by the younger Assassin. This ensured Ulysses the position of the Grand Master once the current one passes away, however, this also made him his first nemesis. Siege of Monteriggioni and Hunt of the Nine After reaching the rank of Assassin Master a year after, Octavian was granted permission to found his own branch of Assassins, which he did, in the world of Aquila. However, the newly born Aquilan Assassin Brotherhood did not last long. Atticus Mercilus, still bitter from when Ulysses had taken the throne from him in the tournament and taken over entirely by his ruthless ambition, sold the location of the Assassin Fortress of Monteriggioni to the Templars. Mercilus opened the gates of the Assassin stronghold to the Templars, resulting in a bloodbath during which the entire Aquilan Order was wiped out, and Octavian's older brother Ezio Septimus killed. His mind now fragile and on the edge because of this, Octavius left Aquila after changing his name to Ulysses Caesarion Septimus (honoring his fallen brother), hunting down the nine Templar Generals responsible for the siege of Monteriggioni. Starting with Antonio Dolohov, hunting them down through the entirety of the span of the Spiral which resulted in his vast amounts of knowledge regarding combat and stealth. One by one, he struck them down, although Atticus Mercilus - the one man responsible for the entirety of the siege of Monteriggioni - evaded his grasp, even capturing Ulysses and brutally torturing him to a point of near death. However, with the help of a Assassin sleeper agent, Ulysses managed to escape, and was recovered by Cristobal with his corp of Paladin Knights. Only then returning to his homeland Valencia, the birthplace of the Assassin Order's leader Darius, and founded a new branch that would later be recognized by many as the leader of all the other Assassin Branches-- the Valentinus Ordo Sicarii ("Valencian Order of Assassins")-- thanks to its massive size and impressive wealth... Ulysses would operate the Assassin Order from there, using means of hologram communication to keep track of the titanic Order whose influence is in virtually every corner of the Spiral when he finally ascends to the throne as the leader of the Order. He became the Grandmaster of the Order at the age of 24, just a year after Kane had taken over the Valencian throne from King Casimir and set up the blockades around Valencia, and when his father had joined Casimir in the Resistance against Kane. Ulysses did not intend for the Assassins to join the brewing war between the clockworks and pirates, at first. He kept that up over a year, until one night. Joining the Valencian Armada That night, he was paid a visit by Deacon, and was offered a commission letter from Kane himself for a position as a captain in the Armada. Ulysses, of course, accepted: he was then given control of a squadron of warriors and a Armada skiff named the “''Colossus''”, followed by the mission of claiming the El Dorado from the pirates Adrian Devereaux, Edward Teach, Cyrus Chamberlain, and Wolf Hawkins. With the help of the Armada troops stationed at the Isle of Doom, and a little bit of trickery and planning on his part, Ulysses had disguised himself as a pirate and lured the pirates into a death trap stationed deep into the tunnels. During the battle, he was able to capture one of the pirates, Wolf Hawkins, alive, after he had been almost hacked to pieces by Armada marines, as well as obtain the map from Adrian in the din of battle by his skills with a throwing knife. For this, Ulysses was allowed his first promotion once he returned to Valencia--from 'captain' to the more esteemed rank of 'commodore'--and was given a new warrior to serve as his lieutenant, since his first was killed in battle with the pirate gang. This new warrior was none other than Wolf Hawkins, who had been "healed" by Bishop upon Ulysses' personal request and given amnesty by Kane, renamed Sentus Optimus. Optimus would later prove himself to be one of the most valuable and loyal soldiers of Ulysses, and one of the more fortunate of pirates later. It wasn't long before Ulysses caught a whiff of the pirate gang once again, this time, however, it's more about Adrian trying to regain Wolf back (unbeknownst to him that Wolf has already turned from being a pirate to a soldier of the Armada) since the buccaneer was regarded as one of the most valuable fighters of their group, thanks to his fighting prowess and endurance. The newly named Commodore realized that this was a more than excellent chance to reduce another member from the ranks of the pirates, hence he allowed word to spread that "Wolf" was being held in the dungeons of Isla Cappella Sistina (AKA- the location of the base of the Monquistan branch of Assassins), an uncharted island in the world of Monquista. While his troops laid down the trap for whoever is going to try to break their comrade out of prison, Ulysses himself returned to the main headquarters of the Valencian Assassins to pay a visit to his mentor Cristobal Auditore de la Faiz, in hopes of gaining his support to help him achieve his objectives (ultimately, Kane's Grand Design). Cristobal informed him that he was well aware of such things, and he was fully willing to help, in fact, he is already building a "super battle cruiser" in the world of Krokotopia: once it's completed, there is little chance of the Resistance standing against the Armada for the battle cruiser's massive power should be able to crush any force they throw at them. However, this ship is still in the middle of being furnished with weaponry and armor, so it wouldn't be able to actually serve until then. Needless to say, Ulysses was very pleased with the news (praising his god Dominatus in the process) though he kept it a secret from Kane and the other elites, since he didn't want them to put any unneeded pressure on his Order. As he prepared to visit Monquista in his new ship the Imperial Interceptor, Ulysses found the old weapon of his brother Ezio in the Valencian Assassin headquarters, causing him to remember the rather unpleasant memories of the siege of Monteriggioni that was only so many years ago, bringing out as well his less collected side for a second until Ulysses repressed it and quickly left Valencia for his destination. Upon arriving at Isla Cappella Sistina, Ulysses ordered for his soldiers to apprehend Cyrus, dragging him onto his ship. Once on the Interceptor, Ulysses had Cyrus tossed into the dungeons, where he shows for the first time (in the context of “Valencian Legend”) how ruthless he could be: torturing Cyrus with all the brutal instruments he could obtain, crippling him in the process. This also revealed just how much Cyrus feared death, when he started to beg for Ulysses’ mercy, that he would be willing to turn over anything if he could be allowed to live, which instantly perked Ulysses’ interest. Feeling rather devious, the Armada Commodore offered Cyrus that if he could aide the Armada in apprehending Adrian, he would get the witchdoctor amnesty from Kane… When in truth he was more than ready to dispose of him when he can, since Ulysses viewed all pirates as untrustworthy, and enemies of the Armada; both which meant death. Cyrus accepted instantly, and Ulysses equipped him with a well tailored lie before dropping him off at Castillo Sapo, from there taking a ship to Cooper's Roost, where he met Edward and Adrian once more. Cyrus followed him until the two had discovered where the map piece was hidden; revealing how Ulysses and Deacon had been following them the entire time. The result of this was an ensuing battle, after which the pirates were captured and tossed into the brig aboard the Interceptor, hence now the map falls into the hands of the Armada… making it two pieces in Armada possession. On their way back to Valencia, however, the Armada Commodore suddenly grabbed Cyrus by his collar and slammed him against the side of the ship: “If you would betray your comrades for wealth, then what could you do if the enemies of the Armada offered you more?” Despite Cyrus’ pleas and desperate promises of loyalty, Ulysses mercilessly threw him off the side of the Interceptor... Once back into Valencia, Ulysses handed the pirates over to the clockworks, before leaving to the main city of Cadiz, where he pays a visit to his lover Lavinia, spending an evening with her and remembering how they first met… which was when Ulysses was wounded during his hunt for the last of the nine Templar generals who had laid siege to the fortress of Monteriggioni. She had been the one to take him in and hide him, when the Templars were searching for him, and poisoned the soldiers before tossing their bodies into a river to divert their attention long enough for Ulysses to escape. They were married that day, as Ulysses had fulfilled the promise to once he obtained enough rank, and spent the evening together, after Ulysses had proposed and she accepted. A month after, however, Sentus Optimus appeared to them. Sentus reported that the pirates had escaped with the help of several men in black and hoods. This was enough to alert Ulysses, as only the members of the Valentinus Ordo Sicarii wears something like that. It was revealed later, however, it was Ulysses’ long time nemesis Atticus Mercilus, the very same Assassin who had betrayed Septimus’ brother and the Aquilan Order to the Templars and caused the Massacre of Monteriggioni. Unbeknownst to Ulysses, with both of his enemies out on the loose, Adrian made a deal with Mercilus : it was all a plan by Atticus Mercilus, that he would lure Septimus into Mooshu, while Devereaux rushed back into Valencia to enact revenge. Meanwhile, back in Valencia, Ulysses was beyond enraged; hastily saying goodbye to Lavinia, they share a chaste kiss before Septimus heads off with Sentus Optimus to chase after Adrian and Edward, right into Mooshu. However, it was only then did Septimus realize that he had been tricked, that it was all a trap, since Rooke just then reports back with the news of having obtained the map, and they could not find the two pirates anywhere. For he had connected the two and two, realizing it was his enemy Atticus who had broken the two out, and they intend to strike at Valencia while he was away: using the pirates as bait so he would leave. Rushing back to Valencia, it was all too late when he finally returned: his mansion was already in ruins, and Lavinia close to death from a lethal spear blow struck into her abdomen. The Commodore could only watch as she perished within his arms. Heavily laden with guilt after that, Ulysses fell into a period of near depression afterwards, and neglected his duty as the Commodore and seeker. It was during this time when he confined himself to his quarters within Cadiz, and retorted to heavy drinking to forget his agony… until it went on long enough to attract Kane’s attention once more. Kane arrived shortly at Ulysses’ quarters, just in time to see the man raising the pistol to his own head in preparation to just end it all. The clockwork’s hand darted out then, forcefully taking the weapon from Ulysses. He, instead of reprimanding Ulysses for neglecting his duties, asked him if this is how he plans to have revenge on the pirates for what they had done, and reminded him that he was the Grand Master General of the Order after all, sworn to bring peace to the Spiral, a bane to evildoers like Adrian. Kane also promised that he would not allow her death to go unavenged, that together they can prevent any more of this from happening to others in the Spiral, thus easily manipulating Ulysses into binding himself to Kane with another oath, that he would serve the Supreme Commander until the end, as thanks for saving him from himself, his foolishness as a human. From then on, Ulysses is shown to be much more ruthless in personality, bordering on madness that is only kept at bay by the presence of the Supreme Commander Kane, whose position had elevated from "hero" to "god" within the mind of Septimus, as he had forsaken Dominatus after angrily proclaiming that he is not real, if he could not protect the ones he loved. Kane later issued another command to Ulysses ordering him to take over from his hands the war between Marleybone and Valencia: essentially giving him the power to act in his place, to do anything to end the war in favor of the clockwork Armada... Eager and ready, the Commodore accepted, and rushed into Marleybone on his ship the Interceptor... Marleybone/Valencia War and Admiralty After meeting with the musketeer Blaze de Bouff, who had concealed his identity with a heavy black coat and a mask, on the Isles of Fetch, Ulysses was met with his mentor Cristobal once more, who had arrived in the battlecruiser "The Empire", manned by a crew composed of Assassins and a new type of clockworks Cristobal had managed to build out of the knowledge imbued into his mind by the Apple of Eden: the "Brutes", heavy tanks wielding large double bladed battle axes that are twice as strong as Dragoons, and nearly indestructible thanks to the massive amount of armor plating on them. With knowledge that Adrian and Teach fully intended to sabotage the Beachhead, Ulysses leaves Sentus Optimus at the Isle of Fetch to help the Aurus brothers to secure it, as he himself heads off to the Beachhead with Cristobal to stop Adrian; learning of the plan of the Armada from Bishop to take over the world. Since the Armada soldiers were prepared, Adrian's attack that came four hours later was not unexpected, and a fierce battle ensued. Although Ulysses' forces was able to hold back Adrian's force of saboteurs, the pirate shot the Commodore in the side with his pistol, which though was not life threatening, was rather detrimental to Ulysses. Nevertheless, the Armada soldiers won, sending Adrian running once more, Edward having fallen prisoner to the clockworks, after Adrian had escaped thanks to the Royal Navy appearing to back him up. Taking this time out to bandage up his wound, Ulysses took the time to speak with the captured Privateer, remarking his bravery and how they could have been allies. Once he had recovered, Ulysses speeds off to Trafalgar Vortex with both his clockworks and Assassins, after information was passed to him from a unnamed Armada marine captain from within the Trafalgar vortex, where the Admiral Nelson was engaging Rooke. Even though Septimus himself called it a "pathetic attempt to battle Armada power", the Commodore did not underestimate his enemies, and rushed off into battle to back up Rooke. With Rooke now safe, and Nelson defeated in combat, Ulysses' soldiers and Rooke's force of Armada warriors combined their efforts into battling the Royal Navy: all but decimating them with the help of the battlecruiser "The Empire" and the aide of the Assassin ships. This, and the sheer power displayed by the battlecruiser, both alarmed and forced the Marleybonean royalty to surrender, thus ending the war between Marleybone and Valencia. Victorious, Ulysses sailed back triumphant to Valencia, where he was immediately promoted once again, to the final rank of the highest prestige a human had ever achieved in the ranks of the Armada- an Armada Admiral, Royal Admiral. It was also then the Supreme Commander gifted him with another ship, this one to be become Ulysses' flagship which he named the Malevolence, and a Valencian naval saber that marked his new rank. Two days after, Ulysses orders that Edward is to be hung at the gallows (as per Edward's request), proving that he still is very much humane toward foes who had earned his respect: even showing perhaps a bit of sympathy for Edward. "You know, we could have achieved great heights working together..." Also it should be noted that not all of the elites supported Kane's choice, however: Bishop, for reasons unknown, rejected the idea of Ulysses holding a position meant only for a clockwork. He was backed up by the Grand Marshal Rooke, who may have just done so due to his wounded pride of unwilling to admit that Ulysses was a truly skilled officer and soldier. Kane however, pays them both no attention, and continues to pay Ulysses respect as though he was a clockwork of the highest make. Ulysses, on the other hand, remains Kane's loyal soldier and follower: spending time now almost entirely in Cadiz to carry out his lord's will, and then later, as one of the elites (Knight) and Kane's personal lieutenant after Ulysses having carried out a successful assassination mission involving one of the more major leaders of the Resistance Emilio Barbarigo. As Supreme Commander What they did not expect, however, came merely about a year later when Adrian's rallied forces of pirates broke into Valencia, laying siege to Cadiz. Ulysses and his soldiers fought their way into the throne room, primarily due to the Admiral's concern being the safety of the Supreme Commander- Septimus arrived just on time to find Kane dueling Atticus, Adrian, and two other pirates in the throne room. Though he managed to slit the throats of the two unnamed pirates, Adrian managed to land the blow that would ultimately seal Ulysses' fate: stabbing Kane through the heart as Atticus kept him occupied, before fleeing the throne room with the Templar Grand Master. Kane perished that night in Ulysses' arms, his injuries proving far too great for any hope, but not before passing the position of the Supreme Commander to Ulysses himself. The only one holding together his already frayed sanity gone, Septimus vowed bloody retribution upon Adrian and all of Skull Island through the tears he had shed for the death of Kane. One week later, Ulysses was visited by Cristobal once more, who presents him with a chest containing a uniform and a mask modeled after the first Supreme Commander Kane himself, which Ulysses immediately donned: naming himself as "Kane the Second", as the mask blends in so well with the tone of his deathly colored skin, it could almost be mistaken as his face. When he was finally ready, Ulysses launched the "Final Cleansing", a bloody battle annihilating all of Skull Island while he was backed up by his Assassins and clockwork soldiers. However, it would appear that Adrian had managed to escape during the chaos... Valencian Empire With the pirates defeated, Ulysses launches a series of conquests across the worlds of the Spiral as he continues on the search for the El Dorado Map (three more pieces are left), while in search for his greatest enemies Adrian Devereaux and Atticus Mercilus: conquering many of the worlds with the help of his Assassins and his charisma. Although he was now essentially the Emperor of the Valencian Empire, none of this has changed the fact that Ulysses still feels guilty that he had not been able to save his Commander in his last moments, something which greatly contributed to his gradual decline into even more darkness as Servius and Sentus becomes the only witnesses. Due to the fact that now even more looked upon him as their leader, Ulysses hides all of it underneath his pristine mask, putting up a facade that he is still stable enough to serve as the Commander of the most feared forces in the Spiral, as well as their king. Blaze de Bouff, or Militus Secundus, appears once more, reporting that he had found exactly where the Templars are holding their base and where Adrian has been holed up this whole time, after Skull Island was all but annihilated by the Assassins and clockworks, thanks to Blaze having pretended to join the ranks of the Templars and that Adrian had not been able to catch sight of him when the clockworks invaded Skull Island. With knowledge of where his enemies are, Ulysses immediately ordered the Royal Guard captain Quintia Presidos and his lieutenant Sentus Optimus to take a squadron of warriors to capture either one or both of them alive, and bring them back to Valencia, for he himself needed to continue in the search for the map of El Dorado: the next piece revealing itself to be in Aquila, the place where Ulysses and his older brother Ezio had attempted to found the Aquilan Branch. Once Quintia and Sentus had left, Ulysses gathers an elite corp of Assassins and clockworks that would accompany him to Aquila in search for the map, including Bishop, the Triumvirate twins, and the Grand Marshal Rooke: leaving Cristobal in charge of running Valencia during their (he was sure of) short absence. In Aquila, Ulysses puts to use his authority as the supreme leader of the Assassin Order to use, allowing him to discover that it was the King of Ithaca, Odysseus who has the next El Dorado map piece, and that if he wanted it, he would have to aide Odysseus in returning home more swiftly by ending the Trojan War... Which Septimus did by ordering for his clockworks to essentially bombard Troy's walls with their superior technology, before disabling Parisss with a throwing knife, allowing Eaglememnon to kill the Trojan prince. With the map piece in hand, Septimus' forces return to Valencia victorious, only to discover that both Quintia and Sentus had not returned from their mission, causing Septimus to fear that they were either killed or discovered. While Secundus has not yet reported back to the Supreme Commander, there was very little Ulysses could do aside from waiting. After a night of pure nightmares, a tired and fatigued Ulysses stumbles into his study, where he keeps the Apple of Eden. Upon contact with the ancient artifact, another blueprint became imprinted upon his mind, the blueprint that would eventually become the first of the clockwork Assassins Aetius Varius Septimus (who more often than not go by the name "Varius" instead of his given name). As Ulysses constructs Aetius, he begins to experience hallucinations of his past and his own Commander Kane, images that reminded him of his hatred against Adrian Devereaux and all those that had robbed him of everything he had ever held dear, even though the images of his Commander's terminated form also served to drive Ulysses deeper into insanity and pain. Nevertheless, Ulysses manages to reconstruct his own metaphorical mask by daybreak when he met up again with his elites. The Supreme Commander was nearly assassinated in his throne room by a band of Resistance diehards that had collaborated with the Templars. Thankfully, due to his training as an Assassin, Ulysses was more than capable of holding his own against the assassins, and easily defeated out his would - be killer Alexander Mercilus, who was later knocked out by the elite sniper Servius Decimus. Ulysses, with the help of his Apple of Eden, forcefully rewrites the loyalty of Alexander (as he is also a clockwork, only created by Atticus Mercilus himself) and renames him Argentius Domitius Septimus, for that he had been able to infer from his observations (and the fact that Blaze had spoken to him that Atticus owned a piece of Eden) that Argentius was a creation of Eden. Shortly after, Ulysses sends his newly named Commodore Argentius to acquire the map piece found within the world of Grizzleheim, while he himself experienced yet another round of hallucinations of his past when he had resumed his construction of the clockwork Assassin. Once there was only one map piece remaining, Ulysses also finishes constructing Aetius Varius Septimus. But, as a result of this, Ulysses had given up a great portion of his own health and sanity in the process. This was only exacerbated when the corpse of Quintia Presidos was sent back to Valencia, shortly after Argentius returned to Valencia bearing the second to final map piece to the map of El Dorado. A griefing Ulysses before that very moment, sent Aetius to Skull Island to capture Atticus and Adrian, something which proved to be successful later when Aetius returned with both of them alive. While a escape attempt was made by the two Templars, thanks to Argentius Domitius Septimus' intervention, Atticus was still captured and executed (with his ring of Eden falling into the hands of Ulysses, revealing it was the final map piece. With the completed map, the Supreme Commander heads a exploration to the Golden City, revealing it to be a ruin of the First Civilization: in turn, the home to the artifact, a Staff of Eden that Ulysses combined with his own Apple of Eden, creating a weapon of great power that he used to easily subdue Adrian (unbeknownst to him that Argentius had been killed) who had hitched a ride on Ulysses own flagship along with the traitorous Armada Commodore. Victorious, Ulysses sails back to Valencia, with the completed staff and Adrian as his prisoner... Who he later executed with a knife in Kane's mausoleum. Later Life As the Emperor Kane the Second, while his rule was long and the empire prospered under his leadership, with the power of the Armada and the power of the Assassin Order spreading far and wide, Septimus' health continued to decline behind the scenes with the increasing pressure. Somewhere in his forties, Ulysses places his effort forward to create one final clockwork, in a half attempt to bury the guilt that had overtaken him from the death of his daughter Quintia Presidos. This resulting clockwork was the first techno-assassin, Corvus Marius Septimus, however, due to Septimus' fractured psyche (which stayed together surprisingly well, or as well as it could), Corvus was created with two separate personas, which would have fallen into chaos had it not been for Ulysses stepping in after his face was severely disfigured from a battle. Several more attempts on Ulysses' life were made by the pockets of Resistance diehards, although they were all quickly stomped out by the combined might of the assassin brothers Corvus and Aetius Varius. The most notable instance being the battle that had disfigured Corvus' face, leaving him with only half of a normal semblance of a face by clockwork standards. With the pioneering of new technology by the combined efforts of the clockworks and the Assassins, the Valencian Empire also saw the rise of newer, more powerful technology being widly distributed and used, such as the usage of tanks on the battlefield by both the clockworks and the Paladin Knights. Weapons such as naval cannons, bombers were also created for use on the battlefield, and machine guns are added to the multiple defense mechanisms of Cadiz. Even the elites received upgrades from their original selves, with Ulysses once more tapping into the power of the Apple of Eden for help, despite nothing could be done with his own human frame. Personality "If you really want to know a man, look at how he treats those ones below him, not how he acts with his equals." - Arno Dorian. Ulysses is one of the few that stands rather easily out of the crowd with his intelligence and charisma, which he used to mask his true nature as the Assassin Grand Master General. Thanks to his education and training, Ulysses gave off what many would perceive as a powerful, commanding aura, mixed in with those of a Valencian noble, leading up to him being well-mannered to almost all he comes across and gaining unconscious respect from them, until they prove to be his enemy. Upon then, he turns into a cold-hearted Assassin marked with serpent intelligence and ruthlessness, proven when Adrian Devereaux became his personal archnemesis. Most of the time, Ulysses was a calm and calculated nobleman, never raising his voice even when he is clearly angered or annoyed, projecting the image of a mild tempered man when in truth that under this cool surface, bubbled a temper and a power much like those of a volcano, destructive when unleashed. Not only that, this facade covered the fact that he had long strayed far from his original gentle and ambitious personality as Altaïr, hiding that he is now a man with a mind that bordered on insanity and can be truly ruthless when someone touches the right buttons, as well as his tormented mind of having seen the death of his brother Ezio Septimus and the First Aquilan Assassin branch in his early years. Ulysses was an honorable Assassin truly dedicated to the Order's cause, and the cause of the Grand Armada. He believed by heart the righteousness of both causes, to a point of being a fanatic, particularly his personal loyalty toward the Supreme Commander Kane and that it's his duty, as both a commissioned officer and the Grand Master of the Order, to help remake the Spiral into a peaceful, united world where no one would have to suffer, even though a few of the Assassins and all of his foes comes to view his ways as "evil". Although it should be noted that Ulysses, after having founded the Valencian Branch, adopted a taste for tormenting his enemies, after having been called upon to pry information out of captured Templars: earning himself the name "The Interrogator". Currently, Septimus lives with triple persona, with one side being a smooth and charismatic public speaker, the Valencian nobleman; as an officer of the Armada and Kane's personal favorite, he is ruthless in his pursue of pirates but is also willing to tap into his charms, manipulating his way to get what he wanted; and finally, there is his true personality of a man tormented by his memories of the past, that he could not protect those ones he loved and possessed a mind bordering on insanity, constantly living with the fear he would lose everything he treasured in one night, as well as the stress of having to bottle up many of his emotions so to maintain a "professional" appearance. As an Assassin and continued on even as Emperor, there is a fierce streak of loyalty running through his Valencian blood, willing to fight for what he believed to be what is right with his brothers and sisters in arms until the very end. Each and every one of his troops, he saw as his own children, be they clockwork or human. As a result of this, each and every one of the Assassin Paladins are willing to lay down their lives in his defense, going as far as to put off the Grandmaster's Tournament and keeping him as the head of the Order. The same could be applied to the Royal Guards of the Valencian Armada, seeing they have been given a degree of sentience by Ulysses' hand. The most notable instance of this, it should be remembered, was when a attempted coup was staged on him by a traitorous group of Assassins, the rest of the Order that had remained loyal flocked to the defense of their king. However, no force could be said to be more loyal to King Septimus than the Guardia del Re, elite armored soldiers chosen from the best of the best in the Order to be his personal host. Appearance Ulysses is a thin figure, but not unhealthily so. He has grey-silver colored slightly wavy hair that is usually tied up in a ponytail near the base of his skull, much like how many of the Armada officers have their wigs styled (he does sometimes let his locks down, but only rarely). His eyes are the color of blood, slanting upwards to give him a narrow eyed, almost devilish look. Inheriting the thin lips that marked demigod children of the Primordials, Ulysses has a sharply shaped nose and a strong, defined jaw. To put it simply, he had the looks of what one could expect from a monarch of sorts. A scar grooves his left cheek, just over the ever so slightly jutting cheek bone, running to and ends about one inch or so underneath his left eye, beginning near his ear. This was inflicted to him during his escape from his first archnemesis Atticus Mercilus. His skin is almost death white, comparable to those of a clockwork thanks to him having albinism (a genetic disease that destroys all the pigment in one's skin and eyes). Often, he is dressed in the garbs of a high ranking Armada officer, which includes white long sleeve button up shirt with laced cuffs under a long black waistcoat of felt, black uniform coat with gold sleeve stripes and epaulettes and often decorated with medals of service over them (aiguillettes were added after he gains the rank of admiral), white or dark emerald green (sometimes black) trousers held up by a simple leather belt with a golden buckle, knee high leather boots with golden buckles, and a tricorn with a ostrich feather to complete the look. A second belt holds his coat close at the waist (which is more of a red sash, as it could be seen in his portrait, bearing a buckle in the shape of the Armada insignia), carrying his weapons such as his sword(s). Both of his hands are usually in either black leather gloves or white gloves, for the dual purpose of allowing him a better grip of his weapons, and hiding that he has a cybernetic left hand thanks to the original limb being amputated when he was captured and tortured by his foe Mercilus. Assassin and Grandmaster As an Assassin, Septimus had dressed in many different sets of robes that proudly proclaimed his alliance to the Order. The first being his most notable set is worn over his regular clothing: the upper body featured a hood with the center shaped to resemble an eagle's beak, which was connected to the robes, with the torso bearing an open collar. The lower part of the robes were doubly layered, with the back of the robes trailing down to be longer than the front. Around the waist was a long red sash with pouches attached to a belt, holding smoke bombs, bullets, poison and medicine vials. The belt also held together an ornate Assassin insignia, with scabbards holding throwing knives flanking it. Those robes also bore a leather spoulder where a cape could be worn, covering Septimus' left shoulder and arm, bearing another insignia of the Assassins stitched into the leather. As a recruit, he wore those robes without any sort of armor nor dye, simply the classic Assassin white and red. Once he had advanced to the rank of Assassino, Septimus begun wearing them with plate armor, which he later swapped out for the increased protection of the Missaglias armor. During his hunt of the nine and the rest of his life, Septimus would dye those robes ebon and scarlet, which would give him the name of Il Fantasma later in his life, for how the robes made him appear as though he was a ghost dashing over the rooftops of Valencia. As the Grandmaster of the Order, Ulysses had another set of robes made for him. consisting of his Master Assassin's robes (which retained its original white and red) but with a set of modified armor that instead of being one solid piece, consisted of several overlapping chestguards and a gold - tainted right armor gauntlet. Along with this set he often would also wear a long cloak, clasped to his shoulders by golden brooches carved to shape like the Assassin insignia. As Supreme Commander By the time Valencian Empire ''rolled around, Ulysses had adopted a entirely new appearance to befit his position as both the Supreme Commander of the Armada and the Emperor of the Valencian Empire. Sporting a elegant longcoat very similar in style to the former Supreme Commander Kane, there is rarely a occasion where he could be seen without the mask that would identify him as the Emperor Kane the Second: its dark visors hiding his eyes from view, permitting him to nearly perfectly masquerade as a clockwork. Befitting his position as Emperor, a heavy jeweled belt wraps around his waist, forged out of gold and decorated with rubies, the largest of them all sitting in the middle of a gold wrought cogwheel, the symbol of the Valencian Armada. A second belt sits below this one, carrying his dual swords - the Sword of Altaïr and the Sword of Kane - while a pair of black leather and gold vambraces are worn around his forearms, sporting the double Hidden Blades that marked his position as the Grandmaster of the Assassin Order of Valencia. Beneath his coat, Ulysses is dressed in the elegance expected of a Valencian gentleman and military officer, with a black waistcoat with golden lapels to complement the golden gears stitched into the lapels of his uniform coat, over a crisp white shirt that sometimes is worn with a cravat pinned with a pin that bore the same cogwheel's mark. Only rarely is he ever seen in his suit as the Assassin Grandmaster during this time in his life, seeing that he now spends far more time ruling as the Emperor of the Valencian Empire. While it is true that he wears no armor with this suit, it also granted him far better mobility than his armored robes. His synthetic leather boots - decorated with golden patterning and marked with cogwheel shaped buckles on the foot - does little to stifle his footsteps as he walked down the halls of Cadiz, although it made it far easier for him to perform acrobatic moves and kicks as he would wearing his recruit robes. Weapons and Skills Septimus is a capable freerunner, able to scale the sides of buildings and the masts of ships with little to no effort; sprinting, climbing, and jumping quickly and quietly despite his large arsenal of weapons, not to mention being one of the few capable of performing the climb - leap technique. An avid planner, Ulysses is a military genius, and as he would later display, a adept politician as well with his skilled manipulation of the politics as Emperor. To complete this, he is a master of stealth and deception, able to infiltrate some of the even most heavily guarded areas around the Spiral. A masterful acrobat and infiltrator, those skills would often be combined with his ability in close range combat to completely devastate his foes: performing flips and kicks and punches along with slashes of his bladed weaponry to bring down his enemies, as well as easily capable of gracefully balancing on a enemy's polearm before stunning them with a kick to the face. When it comes to combat, Ulysses was certainly someone to be reckoned with. As the Grandmaster of the Assassin Order, he claimed, and certainly was, the master of many kinds of weaponry, able to dual wield many combinations of weapons, from the basic daggers of swashbucklers, pistol and sabre combos, to the polearms commonly recognized with buccaneers (which he has a favor of throwing right into enemy skulls with enough power to kill them upon contact). He also possessed a wide array of weapons built for him by the Master Assassin Engineer Cristobal Auditore de la Faiz, such as a set of Hidden Blades. In combat, Ulysses prefers his Valencian rapier and dual wielding it with the Sword of Altaïr, the legendary weapon of the second Grandmaster of the Assassin Order. His Hidden Blades are modified with all of the upgrades available to the Assassins, notably the Hidden Gun, Poison Darts and Blade: being one of the few permitted to use dual wield Hidden Blades in combat. He can also use a wide array of other weapons to achieve his goals, starting with throwing knives and poison. Followed by this, he is also not afraid of utilizing what he can find in the environment or what's available to get the upper hand in battle, such as using a shard of his enemy's broken blade as in an improvised throwing knife, or snapping someone's neck with his legs while hanging from the rafters. Due to his First Civilzation blood in his paternal line, Ulysses could commune with the Apple of Eden, channeling its powers with no difficulty at all. Upon combining it with the Staff of Eden, this power is only maximized, permitting him to even use it to channel bursts of powerful energy that could destroy matter with a single strike. Ship Ulysses currently owns three ships, all of them Armada originated. The first is his regular ship the ''Imperial Interceptor, which he uses for missions on a regular basis; the second is his flagship, given to him by Kane when he reached the rank of “Admiral” called the Malevolence, only used during all out wars; the third and final one is the super battle cruiser the Empire, a titanic vessel armed with a cannon that “could blast the Big Ben into oblivion with only two shots”, built by Cristobal using knowledge drawn from the Apple of Eden. As Altaïr, he had once owned a light Valencian skiff named the Falcon. It was not known of what had came of this ship after Ulysses became an Armada admiral.Category:Valencian Legend Characters Category:Living characters Category:Valencian Empire characters Category:Armada affiliated individuals Category:Assassins